Killer Instincts Please

Posted by Mallory Meyer on November 10, 2008

‘Where Are Our Jazziators?’

Remember when you’d be playing games with your little bro or sis and your parents would give you that annoying look that said, “you better let the little guy win…or else…?” I hated that look, but I felt more than forced to back off so as to avoid the wooden spoon from Dad. I never actually let my little sister win (I have way too much pride for that), but I did at least play down to her level a bit to let her think she had a chance. For those of you who have younger siblings, is any of this sounding familiar? For those of you who are die-hard Jazz fans, is any of this sounding familiar? Playing down to your opponent’s level? No one would actually play down to the opponent’s level when the stakes are high now would they?

Well, sadly, it appears the Jazz would—and do. Why must the Jazz treat so many of their inferior opponents like little brothers? They are undeniably stuck in this “let your little brother down easily” mentality. We saw it with the Thunder, we saw it with the Blazers, and we all know that we saw it over and over last year. (Of course, last year was also compounded with the “don’t embarrass your opponent’s in their house” mentality—a mentality that looks to be holding up again this year—but we’ll save that for another day.) The Jazz love to build big leads, then start playing down to the level of the little guys. Why must they do this? Do they feel bad for these pitiful teams? Do they want to give the fans a competition? Are they trying to kill Jerry Sloan via an induced heart attack? Why oh why? Surely Sloan, Johnson, Corbin, and Layden aren’t giving them the fatherly look that solicits this kind of behavior, so stop it already!

What the Jazz must develop is a killer instinct. They need to be jumping at the chance to completely humiliate opponents. There are irrefutably certain players who possess this killer instinct (e.g., Deron Williams, of course), but the team as a whole doesn’t have it. Now I know the crew has performed well with Deron out and that things will surely be different when he returns, but I’m not sure throwing him back into the line up entirely rids us of this problem.  We have lost games and let teams back into games even when Deron the monster has been on the court.   It’s certainly nice to have players with killer instincts, but it’s crucial that we have a whole team with a killer instinct. We’ve got to get to a point where collectively, every single member wants to completely embarrass teams in the league, especially those sub-500 teams who deserve to be embarrassed. The talent is there, but the mentality is missing. It’s either we embarrass them or they embarrass us. The choice seems rather simple.

So memo to the current roster—shut teams out already! We’d much rather see you destroy our opponents than see you compete for 48 minutes. We appreciate that most of you are nice guys off the court (see Annie’s recent post for info on the required emphasis), but we want to see  more ferocity on the court. My sister got dumped by her ninth grade boyfriend for being too nice, and you surely are going to lose home-court for the same reason! Come on fellas, this is Life Off, Game On…no more mister nice guys.

With my unwavering support,

–Coach Mal

(P.s. I probably owe McCall a public apology for never letting her win. But you are all that much tougher and more prepared for life because of it, right?)

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4 Comments

Annie Whittaker on November 10, 2008 said:

Maybe we could share the wooden spoon secret with Jerry Sloan. The secret is, our parents never actually used it; just the threat of it was enough! What would be the equivalent of the wooden spoon for NBA players?
Thanks for the mention by the way.

McCall Meyer on November 10, 2008 said:

Dad always told you to let me win, but you never did! And who did dad always get mad at for getting second place in mario cart???? ME! I was highly dissapointed in our Jazz last night, I mean seriously, the Knicks? We are the better team, we know it, but its time we start acting like it! come on Utah!!!!

Meg on November 11, 2008 said:

What about never letting your older sister win? I wish I could say when you beat me it was because I let you, but that sadly was not the case (most of the time). Not to mention, thanks for re-opening the wounds from that ninth-grade break-up! I have to say, watching the game against Thunder, I can relate to the Jazz not wanting to humiliate them. Until we let our lead get close, I was feeling bad for Thunder…they could not get a shot down. But, I do realize this game is not about feeling bad and the Jazz need to play to their true potential!

Mal on November 11, 2008 said:

Wow. Glad the Jazz pulled the game off in Philly tonight. Right when we were hovering on our double-digit lead I started feeling my stomach churn and sure enough, the lead was gone in no time. I decided that I’m only comfortable with the Jazz being ahead by about 7 or 9 or 10, but above that, I get really nervous. Kinda ironic.

But how about Ronnie Brewer tonight? What a hustler. I’m lovin that he capped off the night with a topless interview! You gotta love it baby!!!

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